Introduction In October 2016, the Colombian population rejected by referendum the peace process proposed by the government with the Fuerzas Armadas Revolucionarias de Colombia (FARC) guerrilla group. The origins of the conflict have been a matter of debate as some analysts consider the FARC ‘a direct outgrowth of la Violencia’ (Wickham-Crowley 2014, 219), some others… Continue reading Report and recommendations regarding the Colombian peace process

In 2016, Calais in Northern France was recognised as a ‘hotspot’ (Europol 2016, in Angeli & Triandafyllidou 2016, 111). Although on the one hand the massive influx of migrants since 2014 and the changing European framework, notably the EU enlargement and more recently Brexit, constitute new circumstances, on the other hand recurrent factors, such as… Continue reading Calais: from Sangatte Red Cross Centre to the “jungles”

Internal governance mechanisms exist outside the formal sphere of state apparatus. Although researchers have questioned the African parastatal mechanisms, especially chiefdoms (Fanthorpe 2005), applying this approach to armed movements in Africa is relatively new and increasingly central. Apart from studies of guerrillas, scientific interest on civil wars’ governance dynamics and on proliferation of national and… Continue reading Rebel governance in Sierra Leone

This analysis deals with the meaning of Hannah Arendt’s concept of ‘banality of evil’ developed during the Eichmann trial. It goes beyond the Shoah, in the contemporary political context of the migration crisis in the Mediterranean. Moreover, the use of language and notably the fascinating rapidity with which some elements of language and the ‘new… Continue reading Critical Social Theory

1. Why are case studies considered particularly appropriate to reveal causal mechanisms? When comparing the several methodological tools available in social research, case studies seem to be particularly appropriate to contribute to establishing complex causalities in a particular theory or in international politics in general. Using mostly qualitative evidence, case studies complement process-tracing methods to… Continue reading Case Studies

You are recruited as a consultant by a UN-sponsored truth and reconciliation commission to survey exactions that have been perpetrated in a fictional country, just recovering from a deadly civil war opposing various rebel factions, state-sponsored militias and governmental forces. Exactions include village destructions, summary killings, local ethnic cleansing, often accompanied by gender-based violence. Your… Continue reading Collecting Evidence for Conflict Analysis